5.  The applicant was born in 1962 and lives in Stara Zagora.
6.  On 27 December 2005 the Stara Zagora District Court granted the applicant's petition for divorce from her husband, with whom she had two daughters.
7.  On 14 July 2006 the applicant's former husband asked the Stara Zagora District Prosecutor's Office to apply for a court order for the applicant to be subjected to compulsory treatment. He asserted that her mental health had deteriorated sharply and that she was not taking care of their children. That Office carried out a inquiry, in the course of which it took statements from the applicant, her former husband, and their two daughters. The applicant said that, if necessary, she would voluntarily submit to a psychiatric examination. Her former husband alleged that she had been delusional and paranoiac for many years, and had been harassing both him and their two children. The two daughters, at that time aged eighteen and eleven, made similar statements. The social services drew up a report which said that the applicant had expressed her fears of persecution by the former communist secret services, which in their view showed that she had psychiatric problems and needed treatment.
8.  On 8 September 2006 the Stara Zagora District Prosecutor's Office applied to the Stara Zagora District Court for an order for the applicant's compulsory treatment. It described the allegations of her former husband, and asserted that her mental condition had deteriorated and that there was a risk that she would cause harm to herself, her relatives or third parties, or would seriously endanger her health.
9.  The court appointed counsel for the applicant and examined the case at a hearing held on 3 October 2006. It heard the applicant, who denied that she was suffering from any mental disorder, and a psychiatric expert, who was of the opinion that she did have such a disorder, but that the question as to whether it required compulsory treatment could be answered only after a more detailed examination. The court accordingly ordered a psychiatric expert report, asking the expert to determine, inter alia, whether the applicant was suffering from a mental disorder, whether she presented a risk for others or herself, and whether she could be effectively treated as an out‑patient.
10.  The report, drawn up by Dr I.D., head of the in‑patient department of the Stara Zagora Regional Psychiatric Clinic, on the basis of the materials in the case file and an examination of the applicant, concluded that she had a “persistent mental disorder” and a “paranoid syndrome with persecution delusions”. It further stated that the risk of her committing a violent act or an offence was low, but could not be fully ruled out. It expressed the view that she was unlikely to be able to cope with everyday tasks and especially those relating to parenting. It finally stated that lack of treatment could have a negative impact on her health, and recommended that she be treated in a closed psychiatric establishment for at least two months. If she showed a more critical attitude towards her disorder she could also be treated as an out‑patient.
11.  At a hearing held on 16 October 2006 the court heard Dr I.D., who maintained his conclusions and expressed the opinion that unless committed to a psychiatric hospital the applicant would not submit to treatment. The applicant replied that she was perfectly healthy and did not need treatment. The court admitted Dr I.D.'s report in evidence and heard the parties' arguments. In her closing statement the applicant mentioned that in 2006 her former husband had been convicted on the basis of information she had supplied to the prosecution authorities. In view of this new information, and noting that Dr I.D.'s report relied heavily on information furnished by the applicant's former husband, the court decided to order a second report, to be drawn up by three different experts.
12.  The report was prepared by three psychiatrists of the Stara Zagora Regional Psychiatric Clinic, on the basis of the materials in the case file and an examination of the applicant. It made, almost verbatim, the same findings as the initial report, but in its conclusion also stated that the applicant presented a risk to her relatives, society and her own health.
13.  At a hearing held on 1 November 2006 the court heard a witness called by the applicant and the three experts, who maintained their findings and said that the applicant could not be treated as an out‑patient. In reply to a question by counsel for the applicant, one of the experts specified that Dr I.D. was not their direct superior. The court admitted the report in evidence and heard the parties' closing arguments.
14.  In a judgment of 1 November 2006 the Stara Zagora District Court ordered that the applicant be subjected to compulsory treatment in a closed psychiatric hospital in Radnevo for a period of two months. It found that she was suffering from the disorder described in the two expert reports, both of which it fully credited, observing that they had been to a decisive extent based on an examination of the applicant by the experts. It further found that she posed a risk to herself and others and that, failing treatment, which could only be administered in a closed psychiatric establishment, her condition would worsen. It noted that the experts were unanimous that the applicant could not be effectively treated as an out‑patient.
15.  The applicant appealed, arguing that the expert reports were flawed because they had chiefly been based on the assertions of her former husband and their daughter, who was living with him and was under his influence. She requested a fresh psychiatric report, to be drawn up by other experts.
16.  On 24 November 2006 the Stara Zagora Regional Court rejected the applicant's request, saying that it was unclear on what grounds she was seeking a fresh expert report.
17.  At a hearing held on 17 January 2007 the applicant expressed her misgivings about the second expert report, saying that the three psychiatrists were probably influenced by the conclusions of Dr I.D.
18.  On 31 January 2007 the Stara Zagora Regional Court upheld the order for the applicant's detention, fully agreeing with the lower court's reasoning. It found that the expert reports were objective and clear, and had been predominantly based on the examinations of the applicant and not on other materials.
19.  On 6 February 2007 the applicant was informed that the order for her confinement had become final. As she feared that she might be forcibly detained, she went to the psychiatric hospital in Radnevo in order to learn when she needed to voluntarily attend and what items she needed to take with her. The doctor on duty insisted that the applicant stay at the hospital. Despite her protestations and her explanations that she needed to go back to her house to arrange for someone to take care of her dog during her absence, she was taken into custody.
20.  The applicant alleged that, while in the hospital in Radnevo, she was kept in a ward reserved for the most difficult patients and deprived of any contacts with the outside world. She could leave the ward only during the three daily meals. In her submission, the physical and hygienic conditions in the ward were appalling, with faeces and urine on the floor, stained bedsheets, rendering peeling off the walls, windows which could not be closed properly but at the same time did not let in enough light because of the bars, and no locks on the internal doors. She had to block the door of her room with furniture to avoid being assaulted by aggressive patients. Her room was not lit at night, because there were light bulbs only in the corridors. Despite the cold temperatures outside, the heating was turned on only during the doctors' rounds. The food consisted of soup and bread, which were allegedly being thrown on the floor with the patients fighting for them. The applicant's requests to be transferred to another ward were allegedly turned down. However, towards the end of her stay she was allowed to take walks in the hospital's yard. She was treated with pills, which she took because she feared penalties, which were allegedly customary in the ward.
21.  According to information submitted by the Government, on admission to the hospital on 6 February 2007 the applicant was put in a closed ward. On 8 February 2007 her detention regime was changed to “normal”, and on 15 March 2007 she was placed under an “open‑door” regime. After 8 February 2007 she was involved in a physical rehabilitation programme, after 14 February 2007 in work therapy outside her ward, and after 22 February 2007 in art therapy at an art workshop.
22.  The Government did not submit information about the conditions of the applicant's detention. They produced a letter from the Ministry of Health which said that the physical conditions in the ward where the applicant had been kept had been in line with the applicable hygienic and safety requirements, and that she had been treated with haloperidol and chlorprothixene.
23.  The applicant submitted that during her stay in the hospital she had repeatedly enquired whether it would be possible for her to be discharged before the expiry of the two‑month period ordered by the court, and had received the reply that it would not be.
24.  Less than a month after her admission the applicant was visited by a friend and learned that this friend, who had a key to her flat, had gone there and was taking care of her dog.
25.  The applicant was discharged from the hospital on 30 March 2007.